Africa
Woman jailed 26 years for killing uncle over insurance payout
Woman jailed 26 years for killing uncle over insurance payout
A South African woman who hired her neighbour to k!ll her uncle so that she could benefit from an insurance policy has been sentenced to an effective 26 years behind bars.
Nompelo Maloyi, 37, and her neighbour and hitman Yithulwazi “Lwazi” Kay, 35, were sentenced in the High Court of South Eastern Cape Division.
Kay also received a 26 year jail term.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the duo were convicted for the murder of 66-year-old Mynhardt Maloyi.
The victim was found inside his house in Henry Street in Graaff-Reinet with multiple stab wounds to his upper body in November 2022.
Nompelo, who was Maloyi’s niece, was the beneficiary of several insurance policies, which she had taken out on him.
The total insurance was worth R165,000.
“Evidence presented in court revealed that she orchestrated the murder by soliciting the assistance of her neighbour, Kay, promising him a fee of R20,000 for his involvement,” said NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
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Maloyi was killed at his Umasizakhe township home in Graaff-Reinet on November 25, 2022.
On the night of the murder, Nompelo left her child with another neighbour, and together with Kay, armed with a knife, went to the Mynhardt’s home.
“Acting as his primary caregiver, Nompelo ensured access to the house.
“Once inside, the two accosted Mynhardt, bound his hands and feet with shoelaces, struck him on the head with a blunt object, and stabbed him multiple times in the neck.
He succumbed to his injuries and died at the scene.”
The NPA said his body was discovered the following morning after Nompelo feigned concern and asked a neighbour to check on her uncle under the guise of delivering groceries.
“After the murder, Nompelo submitted claims against the insurance policies for financial gain.
However, her involvement in the crime soon came to light when Kay, dissatisfied with the incomplete payment of his promised fee, began threatening her.
“In a desperate move, Nompelo sought assistance from others to either eliminate Kay or lend her the balance of the promised fee.”
The NPA said that the State argued for a life sentence, but the court determined that substantial and compelling circumstances justified a lesser sentence.
“The prosecution intends to appeal what they deem an inappropriately lenient sentence.”
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Barry Madolo commended the teams for a successful prosecution.
“The conviction reflects our serious stance on premeditated murders perpetrated for selfish insurance gains, a troubling trend we see across the country.
Woman jailed 26 years for killing uncle over insurance payout
Africa
Suspected witchdoctors arrested over attempt to ‘bewitch’ Zambia’s President
Suspected witchdoctors arrested over attempt to ‘bewitch’ Zambia’s President
Two men were detained in Zambia on charges of being “witchdoctors” tasked with attempting to bewitch the president.
The police stated they had arrested Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Leonard Phiri in Lusaka.
“Their purported mission was to use charms to harm” President Hakainde Hichilema, according to the police statement issued on Friday.
Many individuals in the southern African country believe in and dread witches.
The police stated Mr. Candunde and Mr. Phiri were hired by Nelson Banda, MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda’s younger brother.
The MP was reportedly arrested last month in nearby Zimbabwe on robbery allegations, which he denies, but he has not been seen in public since.
He is also accused of escaping from detention in August while waiting to appear in court.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF), led by z, has previously claimed that the charges are politically motivated.
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Emmanuel Banda, who has been an independent MP since 2021, previously worked with Lungu, who lost the presidency to Hichilema that same year.
The police stated the MP’s younger brother, Nelson, was “currently on the run” in their statement.
Mr. Candunde and Mr. Phiri face charges under Zambia’s Witchcraft Act for “possession of charms,” “professing knowledge of witchcraft,” and “cruelty to wild animals.”
The pair was found with “assorted charms,” including a live chameleon, according to the authorities.
According to the police statement, they claimed they had been given more than 2 million Zambian kwacha (£58,000; $73,000) for their “mission.”
The accused are in jail and will appear in court “soon,” according to the police, although no specific date has been set for the hearing. They have not yet responded in public to the charges.
Suspected witchdoctors arrested over attempt to ‘bewitch’ Zambia’s President
Africa
South African man sentenced to six life terms for killing his relatives
South African man sentenced to six life terms for killing his relatives
Africa
Military airstrike kills over 100 in Sudanese market
Military airstrike kills over 100 in Sudanese market
A Sudanese military air strike on a market in North Darfur killed more than 100 people on Monday, a pro-democracy lawyers’ group said Tuesday, in a war marked by claims of atrocities on all sides.
The emergency Lawyers said Monday’s air strike also left hundreds injured in Kabkabiya, a town about 180 kilometres (112 miles) west of El-Fasher, the state capital that has been under siege from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since May.
Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced in a 20-month war between the RSF and Sudan’s military that has left the northeast African country on the brink of famine, according to aid agencies.
“The air strike took place on the town’s weekly market day, where residents from various nearby villages had gathered to shop, resulting in the death of more than 100 people and injury of hundreds, including women and children,” said the lawyers’ group, which has been documenting human rights abuses during the conflict.
In footage sent to AFP purporting to show aftermath of Monday’s strike, people were seen sifting through rubble as the charred remains of children lay on scorched ground.
The footage was supplied by civil society group the Darfur General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees and AFP has not been able to verify its accuracy.
The lawyers group said in a separate incident on Monday evening three neighbourhoods were hit with barrel bombs in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, without reporting casualties.
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Darfur, a region the size of France, is home to around a quarter of Sudan’s population but more than half of its 10 million are displaced.
A UN-backed report in July said famine had taken hold in a major refugee camp in North Darfur after a months-long RSF siege disabled nearly all trade and aid access.
‘Escalation campaign’
The lawyers group said they “condemn in the strongest terms the horrendous massacres committed by army air strikes” in Kabkabiya.
They flagged another incident in North Kordofan state in which drone that had crashed on November 26 exploded on Monday evening, killing six people.
They said recent strikes across Sudan were part of an “escalation campaign… deliberately concentrated on densely populated residential areas”, contradicting claims by warring parties that they only target military objectives.
Both the army and the RSF have been accused of indiscriminately targeting civilians and deliberately bombing residential areas.
Last week, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called for immediate international action to address Sudan’s deepening crisis.
Fletcher said he had heard “heart-rending stories” from refugees fleeing the conflict during a recent visit.
Nearly 26 million people — about half the population — face the threat of starvation, with both sides accused of using hunger as a weapon of war.
“These numbers are staggering, and we cannot turn our backs,” Fletcher said.
Military airstrike kills over 100 in Sudanese market
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